Heck, if it wasn't for my SD2, the Ord Bot would never have been built!

+1
Got lucky as well...my SD2 is still stock with the exception of the glass bed held on with clips...stock hotend and still running strong!

Says the guy with an OrdBot sitting next to his SD2
I have owned several SD3's and none of them are in stock form except one that I sold to a local friend.  He is still printing with it now for close to 2 years.  Of course it helps that I keep giving him free stock parts to fix it

SD3 fully stock. Hotend and all.

I have added things, like pieces to mount acrylic enclosure direct to the frame and pieces for holding the extruder cable out of the way, but every stock piece is still attached and functioning. Running for 2 years now. Its a work horse. I vary the speed from 60 - 120 mm/s print depending on quality vs function.

And yes I know, I got lucky.

I'm gonna go for it!

Please keep in mind that this new extruder would require a new radial bearing....625zz to be exact as well as a new screw and spring for the tensioning. Regardless of the design and effort, it is a spectacular mod.

You don't really *need* to change the SD4 extruder.  I like the all-metal extruder that comes with the SD4 so I just mounted the E3Dv6 into it.  All you have to do is remove the top lip from the e3dv6 heat sink and it will slide right up into the hole where the original extruder went and stays put with the set screw.  I did it on a lathe, but it can probably be done with a dremel.  There is enough smooth surface below the lip to make a good fit even if you booger up the top with the dremel.

Oooh, I like that idea.  Everything else is working great, so I hate to booger up what isn't broken!  Although I'd been searching, I didn't find this thread until after I posted (my apologies):

http://www.soliforum.com/topic/10188/sd … de-e3d-v6/

I'm wanting to print Taulman 618, so I guess I'll add this mod to my previous list!

Thanks.

If I upgrade my SD4 with an E3Dv6, what extruder mount do I need to print?  Is Lawsy's MK5 still the correct one?

You don't really *need* to change the SD4 extruder.  I like the all-metal extruder that comes with the SD4 so I just mounted the E3Dv6 into it.  All you have to do is remove the top lip from the e3dv6 heat sink and it will slide right up into the hole where the original extruder went and stays put with the set screw.  I did it on a lathe, but it can probably be done with a dremel.  There is enough smooth surface below the lip to make a good fit even if you booger up the top with the dremel.

I've experienced MOSFET failure with an e3d on a Sanguinololu. A contact thermometer showed a temperature of 400c at the heater block. The heatsink was pretty much room temperature, so no damage to the extruder.  Only needed to replace the thermistor. If It ran too long I can only assume the aluminum would melt with a 40w heater cartridge.

Edit: confirmed (from /r/3dprinting):

That is awesome... I can't imagine seeing that happen. Did that happen from the heating element or from the torch he was using to clean the hotend? :-P

2n2r5 wrote:

After I swapped to the E3D, some time later,  I had that happen again only I didn't have to replace the hotend.

So I can only imagine that when it went bad again, the metal part of the hot end got hot enough to melt other things...

...what did you have to replace ?

I only had to replace the mosfet on the board. I had to clean the E3D but that was easy enough since you can clean them with a torch.

Frame
aluminum bed/heat pad
All Motors are stock
X & Y rods/carriages
Belts & pulleys
stop switches
extruder housing -fan and endstop for E3D adaption.
mobo

I am thinking about/planning to build a totally new, larger printer. Maybe something with a 300mm X 300mm X 300mm print area(Z may be more like 400mm+), but still to be determined. I think it can be done without too much of a problem. One issue is where I would put it. Mine currently is in the garage and I would have to figure out what the footprint would be and where I would put it. I need to look into hollowed linear rods since that would reduce weight and increase strength for the X and Y axis and I would just design new carriages for it. Extruded aluminum channels are an option, but I would be weary of warping and lower tolerances so I'll probably stick with the rods. Aluminum angle bar or something similar could be used for the frame, but there may be a combination of a few other parts that could make it better too.

As for the E3D, I got it because I wanted to print in Nylon. I actually did with the stock setup, but was maxing the temp out and still wasn't getting great layer adhesion so I decided to upgrade for the higher temps. I was also having probably for as long as I recall owning it where the extruder motor would click because it was being over-torqued. I figured it was the motor and no I never checked the voltage. Now that I've upgraded though, it doesn't do it at all so I probably had a clogged nozzle.

I noticed immediately that it took less material to purge the hot end. I was also seeing less uniform extrusion (extruder limitation). There was less stringing too. This isn't placebo. All this would lead me to believe that the melting volume is smaller on the E3D extruder which IMO is better.

I'm thinking of finally taking the plunge and adding an E3D, because I want to print in nylon (Taulman 618).  The stock setup is not hot enough to get the job done!  I've read through some threads, and looked at the Wiki; is the Wiki up-to-date, or is there more recent wisdom that I should be aware of?  Maybe I should start a separate thread for that question.

Edit: confirmed (from /r/3dprinting):